Tuesday, February 13, 2018

A Vicarage Reunion by Kate Hewitt

Welcome to Thornthwaite, a quaint village tucked up in England’s
beautiful but rainy Lake District, where homecomings and surprises await the
four Holley sisters…

Esther Holley, the eldest in the family, has always had her life firmly in
control until a miscarriage knocks her off course. Two months later, still
emotionally spinning, she separates from her husband Will, a sheep farmer and
man of few words and moves back in with her parents.
Life as a singleton thirtysomething living in her parents’ house is miserable,
but Esther is determined to re-boot her life, including going on a few
unfortunate dates. She’s shocked when tight-lipped Will shows up on her
doorstep determined to woo her back. They’ve been married for seven years, but
Will wants to return to the beginning, dating and getting to know each other
again.

New challenges face them as they start over--and new chances too. Can Esther
and Will save their marriage, especially when faced with the hardest decision
of all?

In a small town it does not take long for news, especially gossip, to make the rounds. More so when you are the vicar's daughter. Esther is the eldest daughter. While not outwardly exceptionally devout, she has always wanted to be a good daughter, a good person, focused and driven to have a purposeful life. She thought she had found her calling, in agricultural protection, right out of school. She married a good man and settled down. Until there was a life changing event and she begins to wonder if her life has been about settling and being just enough, and just going through the motions.
As Esther realizes and admits her despair, you will feel her sadness in the author's phrasing. Things feel colder and less energetic, more black and white or gray.
When lighter moments happen, around Esther, you will notice a different energy in the phrasing. The frenetic pace of the kitchen when family gathers.
A large portion of this book focuses on this colorless feeling and figuring out if it is from an event or the culmination of many moments, coming to a head. Then there are sparks of recognition - moments of clarity and awareness that penetrate the gray.
This is a book of self discovery and reflection. Eventually it is a book about finding home and coming home. About growth that comes from change.

About the author:

Kate is the USA
Today-bsetselling author of over 60 books of women's fiction and romance. She
is the author of the Hartley-by-the-Sea series, set in England's Lake District
and published by Penguin. She is also, under the name Katharine Swartz, the
author of the Tales from Goswell books, a series of time-slip novels set in the
village of Goswell.

Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept
northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her
husband, five children, and an overly affectionate Golden Retriever.